LEARNING THROUGH STUDYING ANCIENT HISTORY

Studying Ancient History can help us live more effectively as global citizens.

To livepurposefully, ethically and happily with others, we must be able to make wisedecisions. Studying Ancient History can help us develop the knowledge, skills andvalues needed to make those decisions.The knowledge, skills and values of the senior Ancient History syllabus provide anavenue of continuity with the Years 1 to 10 Studies of Society and Environmentsyllabus, and with the optional History subject syllabus of the SOSE key learning area.Through the study of Ancient History, we can understand how the peoples andachievements of the distant past have influenced the modern world. Through a studyof early peoples and cultures, we can understand the processes of change andcontinuity that have shaped today’s world, their causes, and the roles people haveplayed in those processes. We develop these understandings through processes ofcritical inquiry, debate and reflection, and through empathetic engagement with thestandpoint of others.

There is a special focus on values in historical studies where we encounter differentvalues, investigate their origins and study their impact on human affairs. We begin todecide which values might guide us in building a more democratic, just andecologically sustainable world for all people. Studies of the distant past are equally asvaluable as those of the not-so-remote past, although the fragmentary nature of theexisting evidence provides unique challenges for the student of Ancient History. Mostof the evidence has disappeared with time and the studies of Ancient History areinfluenced by the inevitable mystery surrounding these fragments of information.

Determining the values and standpoints of ancient peoples from this limited andtantalising evidence is part of the unique nature of historical studies into the ancientpast.In our everyday lives, including in our work, we need to understand situations, placethem in a long-term perspective, identify causes of change and continuity,acknowledge the perspectives of others, develop personal values, make judgments andreflect on our decisions. These are the skills developed in a study of Ancient History.We also need the communication skills that are developed and practised in all phasesof historical study.

Defining Ancient History

The term “ancient history” is used to describe the cultures of Ancient China, HarappanIndia, Pharaonic Egypt, Achaemenid Persia, Israel, pre-classical, classical andHellenistic Greece, Etruria and Rome of the kings, the republic and the imperialsystem up to the end of the fifth century AD. In addition, the term is frequentlyapplied to the much later civilisations of Central and South America, and South-EastAsia.

The cultures were all highly sophisticated and organised and they exerted a significantinfluence on other contemporary societies and, in most cases, on later societies. Theirremoteness from today’s world is essentially only that of time. For example, ourpresent-day Australian society is ultimately based on the legacy of the ancientcivilisations of Greece, Rome and Israel; and an understanding of these societies helpstowards the deeper understanding of our own society.

Ancient History Senior Syllabus

All of these ancient societies may be studied in the Ancient History syllabus.

Inaddition, the syllabus provides opportunities for limited studies of the medievalperiod, within the time frame of AD 500–1500. The medieval period is one ofconsiderable interest to both students and teachers, for which there is virtually noopportunity of study elsewhere in the senior curriculum.The Ancient History syllabus also recognises the significance of the history of theIndigenous peoples of Australia and of their cultures as the oldest survivingcontemporary cultures on earth. Opportunities are provided in this syllabus for studiesof Indigenous history within the context of the historical processes and methodologiesof Ancient History.